4593 réponses à ce sujet

[AventuroLegendary]

Goddamn, the demons in SMTIV can manage to K.O. my own demons that are 6 level higher just like that. Liking the difficulty but sometimes these arbitrary K.O.s can get a bit annoying.

 

A lot of times, I found the difference between an easy victory and a wipe is who starts first.

[Chewin]

A few hours in, and I already prefer Yu Narukami over Minato as a protagonist. Not only is his interactions with the characters more frequent, but he also has the ability to execute rather than tagging along, which the latter category is something Minato mostly fell into. I find that these help give Yu a more active role in the story, instead of having him act as an observer. I also get a feeling you can express a more dominant role within the game more effectively, which better helps establish him as the leader of the group (something I found was troubling to do with Minato, due to his ambiguous nature). Curios how the murder mystery will play out, whether it will be more straightforward in its investigation or not. I assume it is the latter, though hopefully the game gives the opportunity for you to come up with own conclusions. I don't expect a Persona game to suddenly turn into LA Noire, nor do I want it to, but I always appreciate murder mysteries where you have the opportunity to be a part of it in any capacity.

 

I personally enjoy the more lighthearted approach to this game. Helps make the setting more fresh, and it appeals to me more favorably than P3 (even though I enjoyed what the previous installment delved into, my current lifestyle is rather stressful and it having a more 'carefree' attitude, makes it easier to play during my free hours). 

 

Yosuke and Chie seem to be cool characters. While generally I'm not a fan of the personalities they both embody, Persona fortunately has the privilege of not adhering to the stock characters that they initially represent, so it is pleasing to interact with them during different circumstances and to experience how they develop along the journey. The princess is still stuck in the castle, but I'm curios to see what kind of character she is. Naturally I'm overall interested in how the companions differ from the P3 cast. Design-wise at least, the P4 cast captures my interest more favorably than the previous one. 

[Milan92]

Great to hear you're enjoying it so far

[CrazyRah]

Bingo on both Yu and the more lighthearted approach. While I've at times called Yu way too calm for me he's a rather active protagonist which is always something I can appreciate. P4 being more lighthearted and designed with colours that "give" energy made it for me a more enjoyable experience and playing something that give energy is just so awesome

[GreyLycanTrope]

Aside from what you guys have already mentioned I think I also prefer Yu and Minako to Minato specifically because they're more involved with all their teammates. Those two actually bother hanging out with the entire group on an individual basis, and that just makes me like interactions later on have a bit more depth to the group dynamic.

[Chewin]

Aside from what you guys have already mentioned I think I also prefer Yu and Minako to Minato specifically because they're more involved with all their teammates. Those two actually bother hanging out with the entire group on an individual basis, and that just makes me like interactions later on have a bit more depth to the group dynamic.

Very true, and is one reason why The Answer made me go all "Eeeh?" when the companions reflected upon their attachement to the player character, much which I found to be rather misplaced (personally only found Yukari and Junpei to fit), considering how little interaction there were with the Sees members.

Which is why I prefer that the companions have their own Arcanas that you establish SL with in P4.

[AventuroLegendary]

I heard horror stories about Nocturne before I got my hands on it but SMT IV might be harder, lowkey. I can't imagine the frustration if it's save system was like Nocturne where you could only save at terminals.

 

Beelzebub. Now with more added salt. Oh, sweet pain.

[AventuroLegendary]

 

For some reason, the 2540 xp at the end of the fight really killed me.

[AventuroLegendary]

Lol word. Arguably the hardest fight in the game amounts to a chump change amount of XP.

 

Seriously, quite a few games follow the Skyrim model, these days.

 

"Good job for risking your life in this hellhole! Enjoy your prize chest!"

 

*27 coins and worn leather boots*

[Chewin]

Oh sh*t! Nanako has started calling me "Onii-chan" and even blushes when she said it for the first time! I can't handle this kind of stuff! My little sister can't be this cute!

 

Anyway, clocked around 15 hours and have gotten a stronger grasp on the game as whole. Well I certainly am enjoying it more than P3, both when it comes to the dungeon crawling and the high school setting. It isn't as challenging as P3, but that isn't a particular issue on my part due to my busy schedule and putting hours on grinding with the possibility of having to retry if you fail, is not a strong point for me. I did enjoy the tension though, but I found myself pushing the game off during certain days when I could play due to grinding. Though that is more a personal complaint, since I'm kind of a completionist and felt forced to defeat the Reaper and climb to the top of the second dungeon (forgot name), so no wonder I ended the game with 100+ hours. I'm also enjoying the Social Links with the characters more, which I found are more 'fluid' with their interactions and it certainly helps that there are additional methods to socialize with them. Admittedly I prefer the SLs in P4 more than P3, since I only cared about a selected few in the previous installment. Also having more than three different behaviors in the game, and actually having them impact the gameplay during certain dialog scenes, helps create a certain atmosphere wherein you aren't familiar enough with certain events to express yourself and doing different activities eventually helps make you more familiar in your surroundings. 

 

Have finally gotten to interact with Yukiko, and I'm going to assume that she ranks high in people's favorite character list in here. I can see why, since she is quite likable on several aspects, and the game has given her a very multifaceted portrayal right from the get go. She definitely ranks the highest for me in my current position. Only complaint I would have on her that she comes across as a bit too perfect. She is cute, smart, level-headed, has a sense of humor (which is just bolstered by her uncontrollable laughter), possesses a sense of determination and maturity for her age, in addition to the whole twist of being a "princess trapped in a castle" which I interpreted as she subconsciously wanting a guy in her life, but hardly actually needs one to support her (which helps give a certain attractiveness to her, imho). Still, I like her and I enjoy what she brings to the table.

 

The concept of the TV world fascinates me more than Tartarus, and the way that it emphasizes on the characters personal emotions is both interesting and scary. While the notion of "facing your own true feelings" is grounded in its execution, serving as a nice method to give an initial characterization for the particular individual that it concerns and laying the premise for the game's themes, what intrigues me the most is how it correlates with the use of telecommunication. We all have our personal goals, secrets, fetishes and whatnot, which we don't want to reveal to others. Generally there are limits what you want others to know, especially when it doesn't involve closed ones. Having the TV world serve as an entry point for people to directly see what you hold dear is quite terrifying if you ask me, considering how humiliating it can be which for many is something like being stripped completely naked. I personally enjoyed how I at first was amused by "Yukiko's Quest for Prince Charming" and "Tatsumi's Steamy Bathhouse for Men", since they represented obscure and over the top TV entertainment, but how it is a game on what the character's subconsciously feels and wants to hide, made it quite discomforting. Certainly not a position I would ever want to be in.

 

I'm curios to see how this falls with the murder case. I do like how it has progressed thus far, with the characters speculating and going back and forth with the murderer and his/her intentions, instead of it being completely straightforward in its path; by having every single event fall into place and making the incident far more obvious than it should. Makes the scenario more believable and keeps me guessing. Though if I want to go by "The Butler did it" logic, my money is on Adachi. He certainly fills the characteristics for your typical "murderer in plain sight" character, so I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up being the villain. Well, it is just a blind hunch. 

[Milan92]

My advice regarding grinding is to focus on the gold hands you come across in the dungeons. They give alot more xp than those regular shadows. You can find plenty of tips on how to exploit them

 

All in all good to hear you're having a good time! And you're only still at the beginning too!

[GreyLycanTrope]

That moment you want to talk about characters and story elements but shouldn't cause spoilers.

[TheChris92]

Anyway, clocked around 15 hours and have gotten a stronger grasp on the game as whole. Well I certainly am enjoying it more than P3, both when it comes to the dungeon crawling and the high school setting. It isn't as challenging as P3, but that isn't a particular issue on my part due to my busy schedule and putting hours on grinding with the possibility of having to retry if you fail, is not a strong point for me. I did enjoy the tension though, but I found myself pushing the game off during certain days when I could play due to grinding. Though that is more a personal complaint, since I'm kind of a completionist and felt forced to defeat the Reaper and climb to the top of the second dungeon (forgot name), so no wonder I ended the game with 100+ hours. I'm also enjoying the Social Links with the characters more, which I found are more 'fluid' with their interactions and it certainly helps that there are additional methods to socialize with them. Admittedly I prefer the SLs in P4 more than P3, since I only cared about a selected few in the previous installment. Also having more than three different behaviors in the game, and actually having them impact the gameplay during certain dialog scenes, helps create a certain atmosphere wherein you aren't familiar enough with certain events to express yourself and doing different activities eventually helps make you more familiar in your surroundings.

Actually, I'd argue that the social links aren't quite that fluid, given how disconnected from the plot a lot of them felt like, especially one in particular for a certain party member that joins later. A lot of the stuff, growth, and lessons that are learned in the social links, feel somewhat distant from the main plot as it isn't factored into it which is something Atlus should work on for Persona 5. There's not that quite strong sense of progression like in Persona 3, but again, you didn't get to make a social link with most of the party members, but I didn't mind it overall much, since I felt that the overall sense of progression from to best friends were right on the money in that game. 
Well, at least not with the male protagonist in Persona 3, anyway.
Now that you've finished it with the FES, I can advice to get Portable for the Vita later down the line and play it again with the female lead. It's like a whole new game, I should say.

Anyway, I do however, think that there are generally a lot of strong social links in Persona 4, they just aren't quite as good as Akinari's link. None are as good as his links. None, I tell you!
Anyway, I advice to do Adachi's social link. Max it immediately.

 

Have finally gotten to interact with Yukiko, and I'm going to assume that she ranks high in people's favorite character list in here. I can see why, since she is quite likable on several aspects, and the game has given her a very multifaceted portrayal right from the get go. She definitely ranks the highest for me in my current position. Only complaint I would have on her that she comes across as a bit too perfect. She is cute, smart, level-headed, has a sense of humor (which is just bolstered by her uncontrollable laughter), possesses a sense of determination and maturity for her age, in addition to the whole twist of being a "princess trapped in a castle" which I interpreted as she subconsciously wanting a guy in her life, but hardly actually needs one to support her (which helps give a certain attractiveness to her, imho). Still, I like her and I enjoy what she brings to the table.

Yukiko is cool. Not a favorite of mine but she's cool. That is to say, she's cool in Persona 4, not the spin-offs (but that counts for most of the characters if not all of them).
One thing I still believe Persona 4 has over Persona 3 is a stronger cast. Generally none of them are unlikeable.
 

The concept of the TV world fascinates me more than Tartarus, and the way that it emphasizes on the characters personal emotions is both interesting and scary. While the notion of "facing your own true feelings" is grounded in its execution, serving as a nice method to give an initial characterization for the particular individual that it concerns and laying the premise for the game's themes, what intrigues me the most is how it correlates with the use of telecommunication. We all have our personal goals, secrets, fetishes and whatnot, which we don't want to reveal to others. Generally there are limits what you want others to know, especially when it doesn't involve closed ones. Having the TV world serve as an entry point for people to directly see what you hold dear is quite terrifying if you ask me, considering how humiliating it can be which for many is something like being stripped completely naked. I personally enjoyed how I at first was amused by "Yukiko's Quest for Prince Charming" and "Tatsumi's Steamy Bathhouse for Men", since they represented obscure and over the top TV entertainment, but how it is a game on what the character's subconsciously feels and wants to hide, made it quite discomforting. Certainly not a position I would ever want to be in.

The TV-world skewers things a lot though -- The shadows.selves don't necessarily take shape solely based on the repressed feelings of the individual trapped there. I wish I could elaborate more on my own thoughts but that would be spoiling. You'll see for yourself.

[Chewin]

Actually, I'd argue that the social links aren't quite that fluid, given how disconnected from the plot a lot of them felt like, especially one in particular for a certain party member that joins later. A lot of the stuff, growth, and lessons that are learned in the social links, feel somewhat distant from the main plot as it isn't factored into it which is something Atlus should work on for Persona 5. There's not that quite strong sense of progression like in Persona 3, but again, you didn't get to make a social link with most of the party members, but I didn't mind it overall much, since I felt that the overall sense of progression from to best friends were right on the money in that game. 
Well, at least not with the male protagonist in Persona 3, anyway.
Now that you've finished it with the FES, I can advice to get Portable for the Vita later down the line and play it again with the female lead. It's like a whole new game, I should say.

 

By fluid, I meant that since the game offers various avenues to interact with the various cast of characters make them resonate a lot more strongly. Meeting up with them on evenings, having certain members show up during other characters SL's, etc. P3 in comparison was rather "restrictive", and made them feel kinda arbitrary from time to time.

 

Still, I disagree on the disconnection from the overall plot is a weakness. While I appreciated how many of P3's cast connected with its themes, they felt rather depressive, since they all revolved around the same concepts that the game generally delved into; death, loss, apathy, etc. It was simply viewed from different point of views and depicted differently, but they more or less had a similar goal. Which is completely fine, but I appreciate how P4 seemingly makes a stronger focus on socialization. While both games are similar in terms of delving into psychological and philosophical conflicts and themes, a prominent feature that separates them--from my impression of P4 so far at least--is their narrative element. P3 is more ultraviolet in many ways and is a core feature in the story to grasp the seriousness of the Dark Hour, while P4 on other hand utilizes a bigger focus on taking into account "every day life" situations of the main characters, with a more light-hearted take on the conflict that they face. While both games both delve into socialization--in which characters associate in school surroundings and has a strong grasp on disseminating ideological beliefs, norms, behaviors, etc, I found that P4 utilizes this more creatively with its different avenues, since it has a wider range of things that it delves into.

 

P3 is more poignant while P4 is perhaps more convivial (major simplification here), which is fine since I appreciate the different take on the franchise and thanks to this makes me bond with the characters a lot more strongly than P3.

 

EDIT: I might replay P3 at some point, though I don't see it happening anytime soon. Damn Tartarus...

[CrazyRah]

Yukiko based P4 gurl

 

But glad that you at least like her Chewin!

[Chewin]

Well admittedly, how can't you like her?

 

The whole scene with the "funny glasses" had me laughing, and when she started to laugh without break, I just started to laugh even more! Also I just noticed that I'm already on Rank 6 with her, while everyone else are on 4 or lower.

 

Whoopsie!

[CrazyRah]

Well admittedly, how can't you like her?

 

The whole scene with the "funny glasses" had me laughing, and when she started to laugh without break, I just started to laugh even more! Also I just noticed that I'm already on Rank 6 with her, while everyone else are on 4 or lower.

 

Whoopsie!

 

All as it should be! Time fly by when spent with Yukiko!

 

It was probably her laughter for so much silly stuff through the game that made me totally adore her. 

[TheChris92]

By fluid, I meant that since the game offers various avenues to interact with the various cast of characters make them resonate a lot more strongly. Meeting up with them on evenings, having certain members show up during other characters SL's, etc. P3 in comparison was rather "restrictive", and made them feel kinda arbitrary from time to time.

I don't know what you mean by restrictive, unless you're talking the dating aspect, otherwise there isn't a whole lot of difference. Persona 4 plays by generally the same rules 3 did.
EDIT: I'll note that I agree with Persona 4's implementation of having certain characters show up during other social links, which strengthens chances to level up said character's links too. That is indeed a neat addition.

Still, I disagree on the disconnection from the overall plot is a weakness. While I appreciated how many of P3's cast connected with its themes, they felt rather depressive, since they all revolved around the same concepts that the game generally delved into; death, loss, apathy, etc. It was simply viewed from different point of views and depicted differently, but they more or less had a similar goal. Which is completely fine, but I appreciate how P4 seemingly makes a stronger focus on socialization. While both games are similar in terms of delving into psychological and philosophical conflicts and themes, a prominent feature that separates them--from my impression of P4 so far at least--is their narrative element. P3 is more ultraviolet in many ways and is a core feature in the story to grasp the seriousness of the Dark Hour, while P4 on other hand utilizes a bigger focus on taking into account "every day life" situations of the main characters, with a more light-hearted take on the conflict that they face. While both games both delve into socialization--in which characters associate in school surroundings and has a strong grasp on disseminating ideological beliefs, norms, behaviors, etc, I found that P4 utilizes this more creatively with its different avenues, since it has a wider range of things that it delves into.

I think that's a bit unfair to categorize the social links as such in Persona 3, which could just as well be done just the same for Persona 4. The problem with disconnecting the social links from the plot, is that the growth and lessons they take from the social links do not factor into the plot -- So when you have certain characters acting like the things they've learned from their social links never happened, then you've got a problem. The thing is that it's hard to argue this whole debacle with someone who hasn't finished the game yet, so I'll simply say that there is one particular character who joins after Kanji whose social link is too reminiscent of the very same issues she/he has already dealt with. It's like a complete rethread of the very same thing he/she had already resolved. Certain big issues in the party member's social link should factor into the plot, otherwise it comes off as schizophrenic which isn't ideal in my opinion.
I can't say I agree with you anyway, but if anything, we can continue discussing when you finish the game.
 
 

P3 is more poignant while P4 is perhaps more convivial (major simplification here), which is fine since I appreciate the different take on the franchise and thanks to this makes me bond with the characters a lot more strongly than P3.
 
EDIT: I might replay P3 at some point, though I don't see it happening anytime soon. Damn Tartarus...

I think it's a bit premature to make that kind of judgement before finishing it, but anyway, yeah..

[TheChris92]

Yukiko based P4 gurl
 
But glad that you at least like her Chewin!

Fun fact -- ^This guy here nearly gave up on Persona 4 in said character's dungeon after having difficulty beating her shadow at first.

Had he given up on that day, he would not have been here. Makes you think

[CrazyRah]

Fun fact -- ^This guy here nearly gave up on Persona 4 in said character's dungeon after having difficulty beating her shadow at first.

Had he given up on that day, he would not have been here. Makes you think

 

The trauma from that experience will never fade

 

But I learned my lesson and boy am I glad I did that 

[Chewin]

I don't know what you mean by restrictive, unless you're talking the dating aspect, otherwise there isn't a whole lot of difference. Persona 4 plays by generally the same rules 3 did.
 

 

Simple; you meet with a character after school, day ends. Followed by a potential call to meet up on weekend.

 

P4 has that and more.

 

I think that's a bit unfair to categorize the social links as such in Persona 3, which could just as well be done just the same for Persona 4. The problem with disconnecting the social links from the plot, is that the growth and lessons they take from the social links do not factor into the plot -- So when you have certain characters acting like the things they've learned from their social links never happened, then you've got a problem. The thing is that it's hard to argue this whole debacle with someone who hasn't finished the game yet, so I'll simply say that there is one particular character who joins after Kanji whose social link is too reminiscent of the very same issues she/he has already dealt with. It's like a complete rethread of the very same thing he/she had already resolved. Certain big issues in the party member's social link should factor into the plot, otherwise it comes off as schizophrenic which isn't ideal in my opinion. I can't say I agree with you anyway

 

Yukiko certainly brings her struggles up. Or in her case, it reflects what happened in the Castle in her SL. Yosuke's sense of escapism is resonated through a variety of SL that he shows up in (only complain I have is seemingly easy way to come over Saki). But then again, it is not simply what they bring to the plot that makes the SL stronger on my part.

 

But you are right that I need to finish the game so that we can talk on an equal footing. 

 

I think it's a bit premature to make that kind of judgement before finishing it, but anyway, yeah..

 

Certainly, which is why I pointed out that it is a major simplification.